The joy in teaching fourth grade is that the students' reading suddenly explodes.  They are no longer grappling with every word they read but more with the context, new vocabulary, and ideas that are cultivated in the things they read.  A perfect example of this is evidenced by the fourth grade biography unit.

The unit begins as the children study the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Reading biographies of Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robison, and Ruby Bridges stimulates many discussions about the Civil Rights Movement and also exposes children to well-written biographies.  Integrating this social studies and reading with the written word, the children had to write a two paragraph summary of the biography of Thurgood Marshall.  In this assignment, they learned how to determine what the important and interesting facts were about Thurgood, and they tried their hand at composing at the keyboard rather than with pencil and paper.

Next, the fourth graders were able to read a biography of their choosing.  The selection of books was well guided by our Lower School librarian, Nancy Lage, as well as each homeroom teacher.  In this way, the books the children read were geared for each child's reading level and yet all children were reading a biography.  Through post-it notes and note cards, students were guided to find the important information about their person and then they once again composed a summary at the keyboard of their person's life.

Once again, the MPA philosophy of differentiated learning exhibited itself well in the fourth grade classrooms.  Children were able to excel at their written report, or perhaps their oral report, or maybe at the creativity and craftsmanship they used in creating their soap bottle.  Each child read and wrote at their own level, but all were proud to exhibit their soap bottle and all learned a great deal through the process.